I had my eyes glued on the approaching ball the entire time and was so caught up in the moment that I did not even see Moises Alou, much less that he may have had a play. Had I thought for one second that the ball was playable or had I seen Alou approaching, I would have done whatever I could to get out of the way and give Alou a chance to make the catch.

So it's true of both guys: He thought he could catch it. He almost did. He came up short.

Alou got upset and threw his glove. He glared at the fans. And his reaction made clear he thought he had a chance.

After a few years of watching replays, he might have changed his mind.

In a 2008 interview, Alou reportedly said, "Everywhere I play, even now, people still yell, 'Bartman! Bartman!' I feel really bad for the kid. You know what the funny thing is? I wouldn't have caught it, anyway."

But later he said, "I don't remember that. If I said that, I was probably joking to make him feel better. But I don't remember saying that. It's time to forgive the guy and move on. I said that the night it happened."

So who knows if he could have caught it?

Either way, his tantrum inspired reactions from fans and teammates.

Because if that ball was two feet farther into the stands, it would have been just another foul. No drama.

2. The World Series

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

What if the Cubs had faced the Yanks?

Wood and Prior were depleted but would have pitched as much as possible. Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano had been strong through the playoff run, but the Cubs' closer was Joe Borowski, so the team had weaknesses, too.

The Marlins marched into New York, won Game One, then finished off the Yankees with three straight wins in Games Four, Five and Six, all by two runs or less.

Could Chicago have done that? Did the Bartman Incident cost the Cubs a chance at a World Series victory?

Some fans believed so, and were ready to rid the team of its demons in the offseason.

1. The Cursed Ball

Maybe a few believed the ball was cursed. Most just wanted to vent frustrations.

Everyone knew it would be fun see a baseball explode.

And why let an opportunity like that disappear?

Already rooting for a cursed organization, a mob of Cubs fans threw a party to blame the baseball and watch it blow up.

Mostly, this explosive diversion saved everyone from a harsh reality: the Cubs might have lost to Florida anyway, or lost to the Yankees in the World Series.

And expectations for the team were higher than they had been since the mid-1980s. Fans wanted to see the Cubs contending for championships. There was no room for another curse, with the black cat and billy goat still plaguing the franchise.

Wait 'Til Next Year

Alou reached for it. Bartman reached for it. Both missed. And what happened next was a litany of self-destruction.

The team imploded. The ball was exploded. Bartman was run out of town.

And the Cubs found themselves in the same place they'd been after every season for almost a century, wondering, "What if?"

Some things never change.

But Bartman deserves a better fate. The Cubs tried to quell the frustration of fans targeting him, releasing a statement after the incident that said:

The Chicago Cubs would like to thank our fans for their tremendous outpouring of support this year. We are very grateful. We would also like to remind everyone that games are decided by what happens on the playing field—not in the stands. It is inaccurate and unfair to suggest that an individual fan is responsible for the events that transpired in Game 6. He did what every fan who comes to the ballpark tries to do—catch a foul ball in the stands. That's one of the things that makes baseball the special sport that it is. This was an exciting season and we're looking forward to working towards an extended run of October baseball at Wrigley Field.

But maybe the Cubs will make another attempt to reach out.

New President, Theo Epstein, said, "From afar, it seems like it would be an important step, maybe a cathartic moment that would allow people to move forward together. I'm all about having an open mind, an open heart and forgiveness. Those are good characteristics for an organization to have as well. He's a Cubs fan. That's the most important thing."

Besides, the Cubs hired Bill Buckner as batting coach of the Boise Hawks, their Class A, minor-league team. People forget he won a batting title while playing 81 games at Wrigley Field in 1980.

That's a start.

And for Cubs fans, it represents the kind of change worth believing in.